Staving Off Dementia

I have been glued to the computer monitor this week. In an effort to change work habits, a bit of pot stirring effort to prod some creativity, I purchased ProWeave http://www.proweave.com/ . It is a wonderfully different program from my beloved WeavePoint http://www.weavepoint.com/ and WeaveIt http://www.weaveit.com/ . Additionally, Dini Cameron is currently leading an online study group to help us newbies learn the intricacies of designing with ProWeave.

How is this staving off dementia? Well for one thing, with drawing! We have to draw! I don’t draw. When I learned to use Photoshop some years ago I thought I would have to learn to draw, but no, I learned a number of clever ways to cheat, to develop pattern without drawing, you understand, sort of work arounds. I have not yet discovered how to do that in ProWeave.

This is my first attempt with the some of the drawing tools. It makes me think dementia has already inched in.

Learning new software is a challenge and it is frustrating. More important for me though, it is fun. It’s a new tool and I love tools. New tools force me to think differently. They change what I do, how I do it, and the end point.

Wonder if all the hype about keeping your brain active, learning, etc, to avoid mental deterioration has any basis in reality. Don’t think I will tempt fate.